The improvement of one's life comes when you are able to use an invention to save yourself time, energy and money. This frees you up to do other things. Every time man has created a new time and energy saving invention, the people who are able to buy and use that invention’s lives have improved.

As a general rule throughout history, every time a new technology has been invented, the lives of others around that invention and that person’s lives have improved.

Of course there are plenty of examples where inventions have been used for destruction, so it is up to the individuals to use inventions in a positive way.

One person can make all the difference in the world. It’s like a pebble dropping in a lake; it causes ripple affects.

As to the question of why; to quote Yoda from Star Wars “why? There is no why.” Man lives for his own sake and for is own pleasure.

You are the difference between good and evil because an individual on his own causes ripple effects which can change the world. It is up to the individual to decide what is good and evil, and act upon it.

As to the measurement of improvement; that is up to you to decide. When I look back at history, I’d say that lives over the last couple hundred years in particular have improved dramatically by inventions spurned on by capitalism and trade.

Context still must be rooted in an observed reality. Contextually, a poor person in Nigeria and a poor person in the Chicago Projects are not the same even though they are both considered poor by their respective cultures. Good is not attached to the contextual position of the definition "poor." Good is good no matter how you frame it. If you root for the New York Giants against the football team the New York Jets, both are from New York, so one team winning over the other will still be good for New York. But it might be bad for those rooting for the Giants or the Jets depending on who wins or loses. But, for the game of football, the goodness of the game will prosper because the best team wins. In this way the best team winning no matter where it's from or who roots for it can be said to be good for the game of football.

Good is not relative. Good is objective, but many of the variables are contextual.

I am referring to his response to my question:

"If it's a good and positive change; more lives will improve."

This statement:
1. Measures change in number of lives that improve, not an individual's life.
2. Begs the question. Something is "good/positive" if there is "improvement." What does improvement mean?

"When man is able to improve his life by his own free will and trade with others; the world changes for the better."

This statement, like the first, is focused on the world and general culture. Thus, my original question was not answered. Why change the world (the world meaning how the OP used it, a general macro level cultural change)?

I did not say that changing the world was equivalent to improving your life - nor is that the question you asked. Of course they aren't the same. But one *can* cause the other. If you're questioning Slick's comment, it is true that ideas can change the world for the better or for the worse. But he wasn't talking about any random ideas, he was talking about knowledge and wisdom and truth.

What makes something good is that it advances the individual cause, and that is worth fighting for. Good is a relative value given by the perspective of the individual, not the collective mass.

It is a false conflation to say that "changing the world" and "improving my life" are the same thing unless the concept of "changing the world" is reduced to meaninglessness.

So your question is, "can anything very large in scale really improve my life?" sounds like a no-brainer... I'd say the internet was a very large scale change of how we do business, and it definitely improved my life...

Look out, Slick! The thread's rapidly devolving into picking fly feces from the pepper.

Macro, very large in scale, as in what the OP is referring to.

You're going to have to give some context for the word macro, it can mean a lot of things... either way I'm not certain that *I* can tell you what can and can't improve *your* life.

Can macro changes really improve my life?

Life is the standard of value. That which furthers your life is the good and the positive. That which hinders your life is the evil and negative.

What makes a change good and positive though?

Exactly. Do you fight for the individual to improve his life so that he can invent and trade with others? Or fight for those who loot and plunder and ultimately destroy society from within?

If it's a good and positive change; more lives will improve. When man is able to improve his life by his own free will and trade with others; the world changes for the better. Man has developed from living in a cave to living in air conditioned buildings with appliances to ease his daily life, instead of only hunting and gathering.

But what is the purpose in changing the world?

Very, very true! Like Rearden says in the new Atlas Shrugged, you have to decide which side you're on. Do you fight for good, or do you fight for evil, and do you know the difference.